Serving Unaccompanied Youth: Removing Educational Barriers
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Transcript Serving Unaccompanied Youth: Removing Educational Barriers
Identifying, Engaging, and Serving
Unaccompanied Children and Youth
Part I: In School
National Center for Homeless Education
Spring 2008
Patricia Julianelle
1
Our Agenda Today
The McKinney-Vento Act and
unaccompanied children and youth:
Identifying unaccompanied children and
youth
Enrolling unaccompanied children and youth
Engaging unaccompanied children and
youth
2
Who Are Unaccompanied
Children and Youth under the McKinney-Vento Act?
STEP 1: Experiencing homelessness: Children and youth who
lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence:
Sharing the housing of others due to loss of housing, economic
hardship, or similar reason
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, camping grounds due to
lack of adequate alternative accommodations
Living in emergency or transitional shelters
Awaiting foster care placement
Living in a public or private place not designed for humans to live
Living in cars, parks, abandoned buildings, substandard housing,
bus or train stations, etc.
Migratory children living in above circumstances
3
Who Are Unaccompanied Children and Youth
under the Law? (cont.)
STEP 2: Unaccompanied: children and youth who are not in the
physical custody of a parent or guardian.
Is there an age range?
No. McKinney-Vento applies to all school-aged children and youth as
defined by state law.
Is there a citizenship requirement?
No. Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe (1982) makes it unlawful for
schools to deny access to undocumented immigrants or ask about
immigration status. McKinney-Vento must be equally applied to
undocumented students.
4
Who Are Unaccompanied Children and Youth
in your Community?
Some children and youth are in unstable living situations due to
parental incarceration, illness, hospitalization or death.
Some youth become homeless with their families, but end up on
their own due to lack of space in temporary accommodations or
shelter policies that prohibit adolescent boys.
Many unaccompanied children and youth have fled abuse in the
home: Studies have found that 20-40% of unaccompanied youth
were sexually abused in their homes, while 40-60% were physically
abused.
Over two-thirds of callers to Runaway Hotline report that at least one
of their parents abuses drugs or alcohol.
5
Who Are Unaccompanied Children and Youth
in your Community? (cont.)
At the end of 2005, over 11,000 children fled a foster care
placement and were never found; 25-40% of youth who emancipate
from foster care will end up homeless.
Many youth have been thrown out of their homes due to their sexual
orientation: 20-40% of unaccompanied youth identify as gay,
lesbian, bisexual or transgender (compared to 3-5% of adults).
Over half of youth living in shelters report that their parents either
told them to leave, or knew they were leaving and did not care.
Who are unaccompanied youth in your community?
6
Impact of Homelessness on Unaccompanied
Children and Youth
Once out of the home, unaccompanied youth are frequently
victimized. As many as half have been assaulted or robbed;
one in ten runaways reports being raped.
According to the federally-funded National Runaway
Switchboard, 5,000 unaccompanied youth die each year from
assault, illness, or suicide.
7
Barriers to Education
Lack of a parent or guardian
Lack of school records and other paperwork
Lack of stable housing
Emotional crisis / mental health issues
Employment - need to balance school and work
Lack of transportation
Lack of school supplies, clothing
Fatigue, poor health, hunger
Credit accrual policies, attendance policies
Concerns about being apprehended by authorities
8
Local homeless education liaison duties
Identify unaccompanied children and youth through
school and community.
Help them select and enroll in school.
Inform them of rights to transportation to the school of
origin and assist with arranging transportation.
Inform them of right to appeal school selection decisions
counter to their wishes.
Inform school personnel of requirements of the law and
needs of unaccompanied children and youth.
9
How do liaisons IDENTIFY unaccompanied
children and youth?
Provide awareness activities for school staff (registrars, secretaries,
counselors, social workers, nurses, teachers, bus drivers,
administrators, truancy and attendance officers, security officers...)
Coordinate with community service agencies, such as shelters, soup
kitchens, drop-in centers, street outreach, child welfare, juvenile
courts, law enforcement, legal aid, teen parent programs, public
assistance, gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender youth organizations,
mental health agencies…
Develop relationships with dropout prevention and recovery
programs, truancy officials and other attendance officers. Many
unaccompanied youth are out of school!
10
How do liaisons identify unaccompanied
youth? (cont.)
Provide outreach materials and posters where unaccompanied
youth “hang out”, including laundromats, parks, campgrounds, skate
parks, clubs/organizations…
Enlist youth to help spread the word
Avoid using the word "homeless" in initial contacts with school
personnel and youth
Ensure discretion and confidentiality when working with youth;
inform youth up-front of the circumstances under which you may be
required to report the youth to child welfare or law enforcement
Build trust! If you build it, they will come…
11
Must schools ENROLL unaccompanied
children and youth in school …
Without a parent or guardian?
Yes!
Without other enrollment documents, such as school records,
immunizations, proof of residency, etc.?
Yes!
The McKinney-Vento Act requires immediate enrollment of
homeless children and youth. Lack of a parent/guardian
and/or enrollment documents cannot delay or prevent
enrollment.
School districts must eliminate barriers to youth’s enrollment in
school.
12
Can a school require a caregiver to get legal
guardianship to enroll a student in school?
No!
School districts must enroll youth in school even if they do not
have guardianship documents. Schools/districts cannot
require caregivers to obtain guardianship of youth after
enrollment, or within a specified number of days, in order for
youth to remain enrolled and attending.
Legal guardianship can be a complex, lengthy process with
many consequences outside school.
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How can schools enroll children and youth in
school without proof of guardianship?
Caregiver enrollment forms (sample at http://
www.serve.org/nche/downloads/toolkit/app_e.pdf)
Youth self-enrollment
Liaison enrollment
How are unaccompanied youth enrolled in your school
district?
14
How can schools enroll children and youth in
school without enrollment documents?
Request all records from the previous school
immediately, including immunization records.
Parental signature is not required for transfer students (FERPA)
The vast majority of students have been enrolled in school
before and have received immunizations
Speak with the youth about the classes he/she was
taking, previous coursework, and special needs.
Call the counselor, teachers or principal at the previous
school for information.
Use the NCHE brief “Prompt and Proper Placement.”
(http://www.serve.org/nche/downloads/briefs/assessment.pdf)
15
What if an unaccompanied youth has been suspended
for misbehavior from his/her former school? Must the
school enroll this child?
The McKinney-Vento Act does not overrule state or local
discipline policies. If a youth is suspended for behavior
unrelated to his or her homelessness, regular enrollment
procedures apply.
If discipline action was taken against a youth for reasons
related to homelessness (for example, excessive
absences caused by homelessness), the youth must not
be penalized or denied enrollment and the policy should
be revised.
16
Do schools have to contact the police when
enrolling unaccompanied youth?
NO. This would create a barrier to enrollment and retention
in school!
Schools must enroll youth immediately. School is the safest and
best place for youth.
Educators are only mandated to report suspected abuse and/or
neglect (homelessness alone generally is not abuse/neglect), and
this reporting can be to child welfare
Running away from home violates the law of a few states. Build
relationships with law enforcement and juvenile justice.
If you have reason to suspect kidnapping, you can immediately see
if the student has been reported missing at www.missingkids.com or
1-800-THE-LOST.
17
How can schools ENGAGE unaccompanied
children and youth?
By making sure the student feels
Welcome
Cared For
Productive and Valued
18
Welcoming unaccompanied children and youth
Listen to youth. Work to build trust with them and
understand that their life experiences with adults thus far
likely give them no reason to trust you.
Talk to youth about their goals, interests and strengths,
and welcome them into classes and extracurricular
activities based on what you hear from them.
Work with local child welfare and law enforcement
agencies to ensure that any requirements to report
suspected abuse or neglect do not prevent youth from
enrolling in school due to fears that they will be taken
into custody.
19
Welcoming unaccompanied children and youth
(cont.)
Make sure youth understand school rules and
procedures, realizing that they might be quite different
from his/her previous school.
Revise LEA policies to accommodate unaccompanied
youth and comply with the McKinney-Vento Act.
Educate school staff on sensitive and discrete
communication with children and youth who are
homeless.
20
Caring for unaccompanied children and youth
Offer a peer mentor to help the youth get used to the
school rules and culture.
Provide a consistent adult mentor: could be the liaison or
any adult in the school building.
Provide a “safe place” at school for unaccompanied
youth to access as needed.
Stick with the youth, realizing that their life experience
may lead them to test you.
21
Caring for unaccompanied children and youth
(cont.)
Create clubs or programs to support groups of young
people who tend to be over-represented among
unaccompanied youth, including those who are lesbian,
gay, bisexual and/or transgender, pregnant or parenting,
older than traditional high school age, recovering from
trauma, or recently returned to school after an extended
period of nonattendance.
Implement a system to check on youth’s attendance,
behavior and grades on a regular basis and to hold the
youth accountable. The system must be respectful yet
firm, recognizing that it is likely that no other adult is
monitoring the student.
22
Helping youth feel productive and valued
Help youth become involved in school sports, clubs,
extra-curricular activities, and special classes, based on
their interests and abilities.
Deadlines and fees for participating in school programs,
classes and extra-curricular activities CAN be waived for
homeless children and youth.
The McKinney-Vento Act requires that homeless students be
immediately enrolled in school, including full participation in all
classes and school activities.
If students miss deadlines or cannot pay fees due to their
homelessness, those deadlines and fees must be waived
Some school districts use Title I, Part A funds, donations, or
other funding to pay fees
23
Helping youth feel productive and valued (cont.)
Who can make decisions for an unaccompanied youth
regarding participation in classes, activities, field trips,
etc.?
States and school districts have implemented a variety of policies and
procedures
Youth make decisions on their own
Local liaison makes decisions
Caregiver forms allow other adults to make decisions
What about parental disapproval / school liability?
Liability is based on the concept of negligence, or a failure to exercise
reasonable care.
Following federal law and providing appropriate services are evidence
of reasonable care.
Violating federal law and denying services are evidence of negligence.
24
Helping youth feel productive and valued (cont.)
The school/district must help unaccompanied youth
make up lost credits and accrue credits.
McKinney-Vento requires that schools and districts remove
barriers to enrollment and retention-- barriers to accruing credits
fall under this requirement.
Many unaccompanied youth are absent or tardy due to
homelessness, often resulting in youth not earning credits due to
credit accrual policies.
Some youth miss long periods of school due to their struggle to
meet their own basic needs, making it difficult to earn credits.
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How can schools help unaccompanied youth
make up lost credits?
Revise credit accrual policies to excuses absences and
tardies caused by homelessness
Award partial credit for work completed
Offer flexible school hours, particularly evening hours
“Chunk” credits into smaller time frames, so youth can
earn some credits every 3 or 4 weeks
Award credit for employment
26
How can schools help unaccompanied youth
make up lost credits (cont.)?
Provide independent study opportunities
Provide self-paced computerized learning opportunities,
attached to regular HS programs
Partner with local community colleges and universities
(“middle college high schools”)
These initiatives can be funded with M-V funds and Title
IA set-aside funds, as well as potential partnerships with
dropout prevention/recovery programs, adult education,
21st Century Learning Centers, and other programs.
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Why It Matters…
“Through our conversations I discovered her to be
a mature young woman with much responsibility
on her shoulders. Through the outstanding work
she completed in my class, I also discovered her
capability to rise above the difficulties she faced
in her personal life and excel at school.”
Recommendation letter for 2006 LeTendre Scholar
Michelle, from her Economics teacher
28
Resources from NCHE
NCHE is the U.S. Department of Education’s technical assistance and
information center in the area of homeless education
Online trainings and tutorials: www.serve.org/nche
Website: www.serve.org/nche
Helpline: 800-308-2145 or [email protected]
Listserve – contact [email protected]
Products that may be ordered online (educational rights posters,
Parent Pack pocket folders, desktop enrollment folders, parent
handbooks, NCHE brochures) – free in limited quantities
Publications and briefs that address pertinent issues in homeless
education available for download, including a Toolkit for Local
Homeless Education Liaisons
http://www.serve.org/nche/products_list.php#liaison_toolkit
29
Additional Resources
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
www.naehcy.org
National Center for Homeless Education
www.serve.org/nche; 1-800-308-2145
National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
www.nlchp.org
National Network for Youth
www.nn4youth.org
National Runaway Switchboard
www.nrscrisisline.org; 1-800-621-4000
Runaway and Homeless Youth Act Program, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services
www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/fysb/content/youthdivision/index.htm
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Chris
Chris, 16, recently showed up at Vento High
School, where you are the Principal. Chris
explained that he was staying with a friend who
attends your school and wanted to go to your
school, instead of the school he used to attend
(which is in a different district). Chris explained
that he wasn’t living with his mom anymore. He
said she knew where he was and “didn’t care.”
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Chris – Q’s
What are the first 3 specific things you would do to start to build trust with
Chris and get more information about his situation?
1.
2.
How does the McKinney-Vento Act pertain to this situation?
Do you have any responsibility to report Chris’s whereabouts to anyone?
Does it make a difference if he tells you his mother’s boyfriend hits him?
What would be your responsibility if Chris’s mother contacted you and
told you that he had run away without permission? What if he was
staying with his friend with his mom’s permission, but she told you she
wanted him to keep going to his old high school?
What would you do to engage and support Chris in school? What if he’d
missed a month of school this semester due to his homelessness?
How would you work with your district to create the changes that are
needed so situations like this can be responded to appropriately for all
students who experience them?
How would you work with your district and community to identify other
youth like Chris who are not connected to any school?
3.
4.
5.
6.
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